This course is about what we can learn from examining the human skeleton, and how we can use this knowledge to reconstruct the lives of people who lived in the past. In archaeology and anthropology, human skeletal remains can provide unique insights into the past and the present; insights that cannot be gained otherwise.
These insights are explored in five main themes spread out over five weeks of learning. First, it is shown how age-at-death, sex and stature can be estimated by the close examination of (archaeological) skeletal remains. In subsequent modules it is shown how human bones can provide information about the diseases and injuries that people suffered from and what they ate. Also, it is shown how the human skeleton provides information about the kinds of activities that people engaged in and about how they migrated and moved around their landscapes.
In this course, you will examine all aspects of the human skeleton that can provide us with information about these different facets of life. Together we will explore the scientific field that is known as human osteoarchaeology.
- Human, because it is about us and our ancestors,
- Osteo, because it is about our bones,
- Archaeology, because we use this information to better understand the behaviors and events experienced by past people.
During the course, you will decipher the clues left behind in the skeletons of past peoples with the methods and techniques that are presented. You may also discover some clues hidden in your own skeleton and what they reveal about the life that you are living.
Want to know more? You can take a look at the course trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJi22TxzpRw

100% онлайн

100% онлайн

Начните сейчас и учитесь по собственному графику.

Гибкие сроки

Гибкие сроки

Назначьте сроки сдачи в соответствии со своим графиком.

Начальный уровень

Начальный уровень

Часов на завершение

Прибл. 27 часа на выполнение

Предполагаемая нагрузка: This course consists of 5 weeks of study, with about four to six hours of study required each week. ...

Доступные языки

Английский

Субтитры: Английский, Испанский

100% онлайн

100% онлайн

Начните сейчас и учитесь по собственному графику.

Гибкие сроки

Гибкие сроки

Назначьте сроки сдачи в соответствии со своим графиком.

Начальный уровень

Начальный уровень

Часов на завершение

Прибл. 27 часа на выполнение

Предполагаемая нагрузка: This course consists of 5 weeks of study, with about four to six hours of study required each week. ...

Доступные языки

Английский

Субтитры: Английский, Испанский

Программа курса: что вы изучите

Неделя

1

Часов на завершение

2 ч. на завершение

Introduction to the course

Hello and welcome to this course, Osteoarchaeology, the Truth in Our Bones. In this first, introductory module, you will learn about what this course is about and how it is set up. Watch the first three lectures to learn more about what Osteoarchaeology is, and the topics that you will be exploring each week. Read the course documents to find out more about how you will be graded and the tests you will be taking in each module. You will also find some documents that will help you to get the most out of this MOOC. Good luck! ...

Being Successful in an International Virtual Learning Community - Guidelines5мин

Behaving in an Academic Way5мин

Часов на завершение

5 ч. на завершение

Bones to Biography & Demography

Welcome to the first content module of this course! This week is all about introducing you to the primary things that we can learn from nearly all human skeletons. Who are the people who lived in the past? Are they men, women or children? How old did they become, and how tall did they get? We can answer these questions by studying a range of bones contained in the human skeleton. Here, we will be showing you exactly how to do that, and hope you will learn a lot! ...

Bones to Disease and Trauma

Welcome to the second module!
This week is all about disease in the past. How healthy were people really, and what diseases did they suffer from? We will show you how to answer these questions by studying the diseases that can be detected in human skeletal remains. We specifically focus on trauma including bone fractures, but also the diseases rickets and leprosy. ...

Bones to Diet

Welcome to the third module!
This week is all about diet in the past. What did people eat in the past and in what proportions? Did different groups of people eat different things, and did their diet change throughout time? This week we will show you how to answer such questions by studying the human skeleton. We will be focussing on the analysis of stable isotopes like Carbon and Nitrogen that can be found in human bones and teeth. ...

Bones to Activity

Welcome to module four!
This week is all about activity. What activities did people perform in the past? How did they move about, and how much? We will be answering these questions by studying many different aspects of the skeleton, like long bones, joints, the spine, and even teeth. We will be showing you what all these marks mean, and what they can tell us today about activities performed in the past. ...

Преподаватель

О Universiteit Leiden

Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge in applying for academic posts and for functions outside academia.
Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands. It was founded in February 1575, as a gift from William of Orange to the citizens of Leiden after they had withstood a long siege by the Spanish. Our motto is: Praesidium Libertatis — Bastion of Liberty....

The course consists of five weeks, each week dealing with a different aspect of what we can learn from the human skeleton in an archaeological context.

Each week is concluded with a multiple choice quiz about that week's subject, as well as a "Solve the Mystery" exercise that involves students analyzing a fictional skeleton using the knowledge they have gained in that week. The final course grade is based on a combination of the grades received for these two exercises each week.

Course Content

Week 1 The Osteobiography. Estimating age in adults and subadults, estimation of sex and stature.

Week 2 Paleopathology. Different types of disease and trauma that can be detected in the human skeleton.

Week 3 Paleodiet. Using stable isotope analysis and dental disease to reconstruct diet in the past.